“I haven’t been home in years, but I feel that way with you.”
The Soulmate Equation is a 2021 romance novel by bestselling duo Christina Lauren. The story follows single mother and statistician Jess Davis, who reluctantly volunteers to try a DNA-based matchmaking service that pairs her (with an unheard-of level of compatibility) with the aloof Dr. River Pena. As the pair are thrown together as the success story for GeneticAlly, Jess gradually learns more about love, destiny and the unexpected ways in which we can find connection. If you loved this witty, warm and feel-good love story, you’re in luck! From swoon-worthy heartthrobs to quirky matchmaking concepts, we here at What We Reading have you covered with the best books like The Soulmate Equation that more than deliver humour, chemistry and plenty of warm fuzzies!
The Love Hypothesis – Ali Hazelwood
Where else could we kick off a list of books like The Soulmate Equation than with Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis? As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting, long-term relationships. But her best friend does. To convince Anh that she is playing the dating game successfully and firmly on track for her happily ever after, Olive kisses the first man she sees. That man turns out to be none other than Adam Carlsen, the young hotshot professor and certified ass.
To Olive’s surprise, Adam agrees to keep up the ruse and pretend to be her boyfriend. However, when a big science conference goes awry, putting Olive’s entire career in the crossfire, he surprises her again with his unconditional support. Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerous and close to combustion. And Olive soon discovers that the only thing more complex than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Love Hypothesis
The Heart Principle (The Kiss Quotient #3) – Helen Hoang
When violinist Anna Sun accidentally goes viral through a YouTube video, she soon finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate this moment of success. Her boyfriend then drops the bombshell that he wants an open relationship before he can commit to anything serious. Hurt and angry, Anna decides that, if he wants an open relationship, she does too.
Which is where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep steps in. Their attempts at a no-strings-attached relationship fail; because Quan accepts Anna on an unconditional basis that she is only just beginning to understand herself. When tragedy strikes Anna’s personal life, she finds herself in a position she is ill-prepared for, and where the burden of expectation threatens to overwhelm her. Similar to The Soulmate Equation, Anna and Quan soon find themselves in a position where to fight for their chance at love, they must fight for themselves.
The Dating Playbook (The Boyfriend Project #2) – Farrah Rochon
When it comes to personal training, Taylor Powell is a grade-A specialist. Unfortunately for her, the bills are piling up, the rent is due and the money situation is dire. For Taylor, it’ll take more than the support of her best friends, Samiah and London, to resolve her financial woes. It’ll take a miracle. And, as it turns out, Jamar Dixon might just be it.
The handsome former footballer wants to re-establish his career in the NFL, and he wants Taylor to train him. The only catch? He doesn’t want anyone to know about what they are doing. Nevertheless, when they are inadvertently outed as a couple, Taylor’s game plan is totally flipped on its head. Labelled one of the best Rom-Coms of 2021 by USA Today, Farrah Rochon’s The Dating Playbook is undoubtedly one of the most heartwarming books for fans of The Soulmate Equation.
Fall Into Temptation (Blue Moon #2) – Lucy Score
Beckett Pierce is the most eligible bachelor in the nosiest small town in New York state. But, after his previous girlfriend handcuffed herself to his porch and set his welcome mat ablaze, he’s not in the mood for more romance. Gianna Decker has her own problems. With two kids, a useless ex and a brand new yoga studio, the last thing on her mind is another man ready to create more issues.
Nevertheless, there’s something about one another that Gianna and Beckett soon find hard to resist. As they are thrown together time and time again, their families complicate proceedings and the citizens of Blue Moon Bend soon begin meddling further with their own special brand of chaos. Can the pair untangle themselves before it’s too late? Or will the temptation be too much to deny? Similar to The Soulmate Equation, Lucy Score’s Fall into Temptation is a single-mother romance tale featuring realistic and rootable characters.
Gimme Some Sugar (Southern Eclectic #3) – Molly Harper
Molly Harper’s Gimme Some Sugar is another one of the best single mother romance stories like The Soulmate Equation. Lucy Bowman would have never guessed that her best friend, Duffy McCready, had been in love with her since they were kids. Due to his own romantic complications, he had watched from the sidelines as Lucy married Wayne Bowman. When Wayne suffers a fatal accident, widowed Lucy is floored by friends and family who tell her she is too fragile to do anything more than weep.
Only Duffy is able to tell that Lucy is hiding something. In need of a fresh start, she enlists him to put his cabinet-building skills to work and transform the town’s meat shop into a bakery. As the new building takes shape, Lucy and Duffy begin to feel the spark growing between them. Could this finally be the second chance he has always been hoping for?
Matchmaking For Beginners – Maddie Dawson
Another romance tale like The Soulmate Equation about matchmaking, fate and destiny, Maddie Dawson introduces readers to Marnie MacGraw in Matchmaking for Beginners. Now that she is marrying the man of her dreams, Marnie is certain that her dreams of an ordinary life are close to being realised. Then Marnie meets Blix Holliday, her fiance’s matchmaking great-aunt, and everything is upended – exactly as Blix said it would.
When her marriage breaks down after just two miserable weeks, Marnie is understandably shocked. What’s more, it is soon revealed that she has also inherited Blix’s Brooklyn brownstone, along with all of her unfinished ‘projects’. Whilst she doesn’t view herself as anything special, she is determined to follow in Blix’s matchmaking footsteps. As she sets to work, she soon discovers that love is hard to recognise and that sometimes the ones who push love away are the ones who need it the most.
Not The Girl You Marry (The Nolans #1) – Andie J. Christopher
Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist and more than unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed his journalist career, frustratingly landing him with fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene. Fed up, he strikes a deal with his boss titled: How to Lose a Girl. However, this deal suddenly becomes much harder when he meets Hannah Mayfield and he becomes unsure whether he really wants her to dump him.
A successful event planner who is obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder, Hannah is determined to secure her next promotion with her prestigious firm. To do this, she needs to show that she has range. Including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Which is where Jack comes in as the perfect man to date for a few weeks to prove to her boss that she isn’t frightened of any feelings. In one of the best fake romance books similar to The Soulmate Equation, Jack and Hannah soon find their relationship starting to feel a bit too real, and that neither one of them can stand to lose the other in Andie J. Christopher’s Not the Girl You Marry.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
